Lonely Child
by Whimfu1
Summary: Alone on his birthday, Lincoln Loud, the only child of the Loud family, wishes for the impossible and never expected to get it. Against all odds, the next day he wakes up to find that he has a new sister in the form of Lori Loud, a blonde teen with mild phone addiction. What excitement awaits him and his new older sister?


**Whimfu1 here. Had this story brewing in my head for awhile and getting the first chapter out will allow me to make headway on my other projects. I am a bit busy with college at the moment but I do still find time to write. Whether I keep what I wrote or not is another issue. I'm at two turning points in both Changing Hearts (my Lolacoln story) and Black Verse (my Yandere Lucy story). The coming chapters will very much dictate resolutions. I may be putting too much thought into it but idk.**

**I will not mention my other project as this story will be rated T.**

**Don't know what you can expect from me in the future but realize this is just one of my many hobbies.**

**Note for Spanish speakers : I'm not sure how to really phrase this note. Just wanted to mention that I was approached by someone from Wattpad for permission to translate Age Gap from English to Spanish. If you'd like to support the person doing that their username on Wattpad is "Corrupts Shadow". I also posted Age Gap in English on that site prior to their first translation so it's all legit. The person did get my permission and if you'd like to send them some encouraging words, that's where you can find it.**

**That's it for now, enjoy the story.**

**Original Summary : Alone on his birthday, Lincoln Loud, the only child of the Loud family, wishes for the impossible and never expected to get it. Against all odds, the next day he wakes up to find that he has a new sister in the form of Lori Loud, a blonde teen with mild phone addiction. What excitement awaits him and his new older sister?**

* * *

"I-i'm home." The boy's voice echoed into the empty house. Entering with his backpack slumped off his shoulder, the eleven years old boy scooted into his home. His hair was shockingly blonde, almost white, and combed over to make him appear as if he was from the 40s. He wore a green bomber jacket that contrasted with his red, Ace Savvy t-shirt underneath. The pants he wore were jeans with small holes not worth a full patch job and his shoes were well worn.

This was the only child of the Loud home.

Lincoln Loud.

Lincoln set his backpack on the floor next to the door before locking it. Listening to the house's silence for a mere moment, the white haired boy ascended upstairs. Several rooms were on the second floor: his bedroom, a study, and a small walk-in linen closet at the end. These were inconsequential though, his focus was on the bathroom. Their home only had two, which was fine for a family of three. His parents had their own master one below and he has his upstairs. While he saw no reason they'd object, he still often used his own.

Rushing water filled the walled-in pipes, creating a terrible hiss as he finished his business. It was the only noise in the house and made him uneasy. He had gotten over the fear of overthinking an empty home long ago but it still could provoke a sense of isolation. To fight these feelings, Lincoln's best option was always tv.

Returning to the first floor, the white haired boy picked up his backpack and threw it onto the couch. Leaping, Lincoln landed next to it causing the remote to pop up from the opposite pillow. He caught it and turned on the television.

The pleasant sounds of other people filled the home. Of course they were not from real people but they did soothe the young boy's soul. Reaching into his bag, Lincoln began his routine of finishing his homework while today's lessons were fresh in his mind.

Still a young boy, his favorite show was a cartoon. The show featured a young rabbit named Warren and his many misadventures caused by his sisters, of which he had 25. They would always cause trouble for their only brother with their crazy antics but in the end they were all a family. Lincoln never really laughed at any of the jokes but he always had a giddy feeling from watching it.

Being an excellent student, Lincoln finished his homework fairly quickly. Returning his notebook to his backpack, his focus went from the tv to his cellphone. The time said 4:26 pm but that was not his concern. Instead, he zoned in on a small icon indicating a new text message. Tapping the icon showed the sender and a short preview of the message he quickly opened. From Mom:

_Hi sweetie, there was an emergency in the office and I'll be home late. If you get hungry there's a frozen pizza in the freezer. Mmm, pepperoni! Your favorite! _

The white haired boy sighed as he read the next text.

_We'll celebrate your birthday tomorrow._

He confirmed receiving the message with a single: 'okay'. Hitting send, his eyes wandered back to the television screen where Warren was currently wrapped in a large hug by all of his sisters.

* * *

The freezer door opened revealing a multitude of frozen meals and meats. A constant steady stream of frosty air flooded forth and tickled the young boy's face. It was approximately the time an early bird at the retirement home would consider dinner but that didn't really matter.

Lincoln wasn't hungry, just bored.

Using a wooden chair to get a better view, the sole child of the Loud family peered into his frozen inventory. As his mother had informed him, she had bought a single frozen pizza that dwarfed the other single meals he was accustomed to.

His mother wasn't always late, but it was frequent. His father worked through dinner times as the chef of a major chain restaurant meaning he was also out of the picture most of the time. The phrase 'fend for yourself' was often tossed around in this regard.

Passing up the frozen waffles and hearty lasagna, Lincoln grabbed the frozen pizza with both hands and tugged.

The pizza pie moved all but an inch.

"Aw, come on." Lincoln whispered to no one but himself.

Re-gripping the edge, the boy grunted as he pulled his dinner with all the strength he could muster at this odd angle. His feet reeled back on the chair and he began leaning back to give himself some leverage. The contents of the freezer began to make way as the disk slowly came loose. With one final tug, the pizza slipped from its frozen tomb, but sadly, so did his feet.

"Waaah!" Tumbling back off the chair, the boy fell onto his hindquarters with a loud thud. The pizza was in his hand but, even as he winced in pain, he could see it wasn't the only thing dislodged.

The careful stacking game his parents played with the freezer's contents collapsed as a myriad of frozen projectiles flew towards him. Lincoln took evasive action as the avalanche started. He rolled to his right as a mac and cheese crashed onto the tile he once laid on. A bag of frozen peas flew off a shelf and forced him scoot back followed by a rock hard frozen muffin that tumbled forth to land right where his groin was if he had not split his legs open at the last second.

With the final near miss avoided, Lincoln peered up at the looming threat. The freezer was still. He sighed and looked at the mess. Standing up and wiping himself off, his eyes scanned the instructions of his pizza before setting his oven to preheat.

As the oven preheated, the eleven year old began picking up the objects that had once fallen from their frozen tomb. Moving the chair back into a suitable place, Lincoln began re-stacking the objects one by one. Bags of frozen vegetables here, frozen muffin there, waffles next to the-

Lincoln stopped his restocking. Reaching back, he removed a hidden ice cream cake his parents had obviously hidden away. His eyes looked left and right as if they'd appear out of nowhere to scold him but of course they didn't. His hands suddenly rushed to haphazardly but securely place back the rest of the fallen contents back into the freezer before jumping down with his cake.

His feet moved slowly as he walked over to the nearby table. The frozen treat was gently placed on the surface without issue for examination. It was a large cake with white frosting and cookie crumbles placed on the edges. On top of the cake read in red lettering was: _Happy Eleventh Birthday Lincoln!_

Removing the lid, Lincoln poked it with a finger, it was solid. Checking for his parents once again, the boy rushed to the counter to find a knife to cut into it with. Knowing some tricks of his father's trade, he found a suitable blade and some hot water.

The oven beeping nearly caused him to throw both in the air.

Looking over, he could see that the oven's zealous beeps were because it had preheated. Placing everything down, the white haired boy slid his pizza into the oven and set a timer. Going back to his cake, Lincoln dipped the knife into the hot water and attempted to cut into it with little success. A bit desperate, he retried several times before giving up for the moment. Eventually, his pizza finished and he got it out.

He ate his dinner in silence, eyes darting to the cake often. Mid meal he'd suddenly go for the knife and take another dig at a slice. As his pizza grew cool, the ice cream softened. Nearly an hour in, the white haired birthday boy managed to free a single slice of cake.

Moving it to a separate dish, he turned the lights off and found a match to light. The flame hung gently above the cake, flickering as it was pinched between his fingers. His voice hesitantly started.

"H-happy birthday to me." He paused considering what he was doing. The song continued in the darkened kitchen. "Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear Lincoln…" His name hung in the air. The flame of the match grew closer to his fingers. "Happy birthday to me…"

He blew out the match.

* * *

Lincoln was quick to clean up and hide the evidence of his secret celebrations. The cake was hidden again, the pizza leftovers placed in the fridge, and all dishes washed to leave no indication that he had even eaten. His mother returned home around 8:40 to find him already in bed. The possum act he played was in the hopes if they did discover his cake eating they'd at least have to wait till morning to ground him.

And so a strange morning dawned.

As always, Lincoln's Ace Savvy alarm clock rang out to awaken the boy bright and early even upon this Saturday morning. The white haired bedhead sat up and smacked his lips. The sugar rush he had experienced caused him to crash late into the night and he really could use an extra few minutes, but if he did that, he'd probably sleep straight through the Warren Rabbit early hour. As groggily as possible, Lincoln tossed his blankets aside and stumbled to his bedroom door. The door opened to the usual empty hallway and his bare feet softly padded across the wood floors as he made his way to the bathroom.

So ended his typical morning.

Reaching for the bathroom door, his twisting of the door knob only resulted in a small jostling. This caused the boy to pause. Technically it wasn't impossible for one of his parents to use the bathroom, it just rarely happened. This perked the young boy's curiosity and he jiggled the handle again.

"If it's locked!" A hissy voice suddenly shouted out. "Then it's, literally, occupied!"

Lincoln backed up in shock. His mind surged to place a name to the voice but he could find none. Inside the bathroom, he could hear the person complaining intermittently to someone he couldn't hear.

"Sorry, boo-boo-bear." The voice apologized to the other person. From what he could make out, it was a girl, maybe a teenager? Lincoln placed his ear to the door to listen better. "It's probably just my twerp of a brother trying to annoy me." The child's eyes opened wide. "I'm literally going to take just another minute to brush my teeth. He can wait."

The conversation continued and Lincoln's mind ran wild trying to figure out who was inside. His eyes suddenly looked back and confirmed this was his house. This was his hallway. And there was some girl in his bathroom.

The door clicked as the girl unlocked it.

Stumbling back, Lincoln looked up at the teen before him.

"Move it, twerp!" The blue eyed blonde teen quickly brushed past him. His eyes followed her as she opened the door to the room just adjacent to the bathroom. The person she was talking to was on her phone that was held up to her right ear, jostling her white earring some. She wore a light blue tank top and very short brown shorts that were fashionable for girls her age.

As she entered the room, she lightly tapped the door with her foot to kick it back. This allowed Lincoln to gently push it back to being fully open. With his hands nervously poking each other, he entered what used to be his mother's study. The boy never really hung around the study, only coming to fetch his mother once in awhile while she worked on her novel. Even with the little he knew, he could still see that it was obviously not a study now.

Instead of a large wooden desk overburdened by stacks of papers, a large queen sized bed sat with soft looking pillows arranged for optimal comfort. The once burgundy walls were painted in a gentle blue that was adorned with what he could only assume were trendy boy band posters. On the side was a makeup table with a large mirror and lights.

This was a girl's room.

"Twerp!" His head turned towards the teen who most likely owned the room. "How many times have I told you to stay out of my room?!"

Looks like he was right.

Even as the short haired blonde teen snarled, Lincoln couldn't help but look at her with awe.

"Well?!" The woman shouted out to a very unshaken boy.

"A-are you," Lincoln started. "My sister?"

His words hung in the morning air, the girl's features turned from anger to questioning. Her phone suddenly raised to her ear. "Bobby, I'll call you back. My brother is acting super weird." She hung up the phone and looked back at the grinning boy. "Twerp, what are you talking about?"

"My name's Lincoln!" She could see the white haired lad's eyes sparkle. Lincoln stood up onto his tip toes and gave her a bright smile. "Um, um, what's yours?!"

"Is…" the teen paused and looked about her room. She raised her eyebrow. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Uhh," Lincoln pulled at his pajama collar. "Yes! It's a joke." He stuck out his hand in greeting. "What's your name, sis?"

"Sis?" The blonde girl continued to be perturbed. "Since when do you call me sis?"

Lincoln's features dropped. "A-are you not my sister?"

"What the heck are you talking about?" The girl rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm your sister, numskull!" The boy's smile returned. "What kind of joke is this?"

"I'm just, uh-" The Loud son put his hand to the chin as he quickly thought of something. "It's a, um, a joke where we pretend to be meeting for the first time!" He stuck out his hand again. "I'm Lincoln!"

The blonde looked at him with scrutiny. "If I play this game, will you get out of my room?" He nodded quickly. "Fine, I'm Lori." She shook his hand but as she went to release, the boy kept holding it.

"Lori." Lincoln's voice was low and with the air of amazement. "My sister, Lori."

"Okay, twerp." The newly named Lori yanked her hand free from her brother's grasp. "Joke's over. Get out!"

"Okay!" She still felt weird by her siblings constant cheery demeanor. "Do you want to have breakfast together?"

"... What?"

"I can make waffles for us!" Lincoln said with the largest grin yet.

Lori looked over the boy again. He was still the annoying brother she grew up with. This is just like the time he… he…

What did he do?

"Um, sure." The short haired blonde shook her head as if to shake a memory free. Why can't she remember a similar situation to this? "Why not?"

"Cool!" She watched as the boy ran to the doorway. He turned back and said with a wink. "See you in a bit, Lori."

"Yeah…" the blonde watched as her brother duck out of sight. "Sure thing, bro…"

* * *

Lori walked into the kitchen in a fog. Her brother was at the counter with a toaster and a box of frozen waffles. She didn't know why she expected more from an eleven year old, especially when she couldn't cook either, but she still found herself somewhat disappointed?

"H-hey, twerp." She moved to sit at the kitchen table. "How goes 'making' waffles?" He seemed blissfully unaware of her sarcasm.

"A few more minutes!" Lincoln shouted back.

Lori watched as the boy quickly ran to and fro. Even as he placed a glass of orange juice for her and gave her some utensils, the teen couldn't help feeling an oddness to the situation. The toaster popped as the waffles finished. Lincoln ran back and placed a stack of waffles on a plate. These waffles were placed in front of his sister.

"Here's yours!" He smiled at the teen.

"Wha?" Lori looked at the plate. Two, golden brown waffles greeted her. Lincoln slid some butter and syrup into her peripherals. "Wait, why are you giving me mine first?" No seriously, why does this feel so weird?

"Um," looking at her brother she could see him rubbing his arm as if embarrassed. "You know, because you're my sister."

"What? Well yes, I'm your sister." The words rolled off her tongue but left a stranger taste than before. "But I-" Her eyes darted around the kitchen. It felt off but she knew it was right. So what was wrong? "Wait!" Her hands suddenly slammed down on the table. "I'm literally your older sister, why are you cooking for me?! I should be the one cooking for you!" She pointed her finger straight into the boy's face.

"Oh," the boy admitted. "That would be nice."

"Shut up, twerp." Lori angrily went to cook breakfast. "Don't we have bacon or something?" She paused. "Preferably with instructions."

"Oh um," Lincoln ran to the fridge. Opening a drawer, he presented a pack of bacon. "I'm sorry, I forgot."

"Forgot nothing!" The platinum blonde swiped the package from his hands. She squinted her eyes to read the small print. "Why the heck does everything feel so off today?" Lincoln gulped. "You cooking, me not remembering, what's literally happening?!"

Lori's feet stomped over to a cabinet to fetch a pan, but upon opening it she only found cutting boards. It felt so wrong. She closed the cabinet and went to the correct cabinet. "Why are these in the wrong place?"

"W-what do you mean?" Lincoln's voice piped up behind her. It sounded shaky but her frantic mind couldn't exactly figure out why.

"Stop being so weird, Lincoln!" She went to grab the box of frozen waffles. "This is ridiculous! What are we even doing right now?!" The blonde went and opened the freezer. "I can't ev-"

Lori froze in place.

Her silence frightened the boy. "L-lori?"

The white haired boy watched as the blonde reached into the freezer and removed a partially eaten ice cream cake. "Lincoln…" She turned the boy and presented the cake. "What's this?"

"That's my…" he instinctively took a step back to retreat. "My birthday cake."

"When was your birthday?" Her voice asked dully.

Lincoln took another step back. "Um, yesterday."

"D-did," She started with a stutter. "I forget your birthday?"

The boy glanced to the side. "N-not exactly."

Lincoln suddenly found himself engulfed in Lori's arms. "Lincoln," the blonde teen managed through a choked sob. "I'm so sorry. I'm literally the worst sister ever."

The boy felt a single tear roll down his cheek as he took in the feeling of being hugged by a sibling. His arms wrapped around her as he also began sobbing. "No you aren't," his fingers curled into her shirt. "You're the best sister I could have ever wished for."

* * *

"I literally love this show!" Lori chuckled out between jokes.

After setting off the fire alarms, and waking their chef of a father, Lincoln and Lori were escorted out of the kitchen. The pair of siblings found themselves smack dab in front of the tv ready to enjoy some Saturday morning cartoons. It was the Warren Rabbit hour and this was the very first time Lincoln was getting to experience it with his own sister.

"Betty is sooo the best character though." Lori elbowed Lincoln a bit. He giggled at the enjoyment of learning something new about his sister.

It should be mentioned, this situation is in no way usual. It is profoundly unusual. Upon waking this morning, Lincoln found a strange girl occupying his mother's study magically turned bedroom. This girl claimed to be his sister, something the only child had always wished to have. Lincoln had already pinched himself in secret, checked if others could see her, and he knew she was real by the nudge she just gave him. The frank answer to why Lincoln wasn't freaking out was he was too excited to do so.

"I like Warren, personally." His pale cheeks flushed finding it hard to talk about it with Lori. Lincoln had enough trouble talking to beautiful girls, adding on the fact she was his 'sister' and treating him so nicely was overwhelmingly cool.

"Pfft," the teen rolled her blue eyes. "That's just because you're a boy, twerp." The blonde girl ruffled her brother's white top. "Who's your favorite sister?"

"Um," he paused considering if it was weird or not. "Y-you are."

She chuckled to herself. "I'm literally your only sister."

"O-oh yeah." His face turned a bright red.

"If it makes you feel better," Lori lent in to whisper. "You're my favorite brother." She enjoyed the bright smile her baby brother gave from the joke. Lincoln peeked up at her chuckling form.

Without a doubt, Lori was a very typical older sister. She seemed caring, possibly stern when it came to her room, and constantly checked her status online. It was as if she had been plucked out of a sitcom starring an all-american family. She definitely thought of him as her little brother, but he noticed she wasn't sure why.

Lori flipped her short blonde hair as she continued. "This is so weird. When was the last time we just hung out?" Her butt lifted up to flop back down and get comfy. "I can't help but feel like it's been forever."

"Um, yeah," Lincoln tried to hide his nervousness. It might have been pushing it, but he just wanted to know more about her. "L-lori?" The white haired boy stuttered out.

"Yeah, twerp?"

"Um, d-do you think we can hang out a bit more after this?" The boy rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Hmm," Lori decided more teasing was an appropriate response. Putting her hand on her chin she hummed as if weighing his request in her mind. "Well, it was literally your birthday..," she saw her brother's eyes sparkle. "And Bobby's busy at work..." They grew brighter. "So no."

Lincoln's jowls dropped like a depressed basset hound.

"Nah!" Lori pulled him to a hug and nuzzled his bed head. "I'm just kidding! We can hang out today!"

"Really?!" That basset hound turned out to be a puppy, a puppy who could spin on a dime and was wagging his tail in excitement. "Wow, thank you Lori!"

"It's literally the least I can do..." Her hand combed the back of his head. "I'm going to miss this, ya know?" Lori slowly released the boy's head.

"Miss it?" Lincoln looked at her with worry. "W-what do you mean?"

"C'mon, Linc, don't make me say it?"

"Say what?"

The blonde teen looked at him with confusion. "Lincoln, I'm leaving for college next year."

"What?!" His hand instinctively reached out and held hers. "No! I don't want that!"

"Huh?! Lincoln, you've known about this for-"

"No!" The boy shouted out, clutching onto his sister. "I don't want to lose you! It's not fair!"

"L-lincoln!" The girl's heart began to ache. "You've known abo-"

"It's not fair! It's not fair!" Lori watched as tears began flowing down her brother's freckled cheeks. "Why do you have to leave so soon?!"

Each heartbeat felt like a stab in the chest. She didn't know why but she was so glad he was upset about it. It was like a warm blanket she had no idea she was missing. Lori wrapped Lincoln in a tight hug, tears of her own began flowing.

"I'm not going yet!" Her own emotions began to boil over. "I'm still here! And I'll always be your sister!"

"B-but, but-" Lincoln blubbered into her chest. "Please stay."

"Lincoln…" Lori's legs wrapped around Lincoln's shuttering body, forming a ball of warmth around him. "You don't know how much it means to me that you feel this way." She placed her lips on his forehead for a small kiss. "Thank you."

His sister's gentleness calmed his trembling hands. Lincoln's sobs could still be heard, muffled by her bosom.

Lori's kind voice radiated forth. "We're going to hang out all of today, and all of tomorrow. Does that sound good?" She felt a nod indicating he understood. "It'll be our weekend."

From the kitchen, Lori could hear their father calling them to a better breakfast.

Her voice was still in a gentle whisper. "Mmm, smells good. But before we go…" Lincoln could feel her rock them back and forth. "Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Lincoln… Happy Birthday to you."

* * *

After a hearty breakfast and some presents, Lincoln and Lori's day began. They started off with a bit of video games followed by a binge watch of several superhero movies.

Weirdly enough, the girl eventually managed to bring the conversation to her love life. The brother was treated to approximately one hour of PG teenage romance stories. Had he experienced this his whole life, he'd probably had gotten bored. Luckily for him, he was still high on the new sister rush.

Everyone eventually went to dinner, of Lincoln's choice but by his chef father's discretion. Enjoying their supper they returned home once again and had a slice of cake. Everything was rounding off to a wonderful end to the once only child's day. He had just finished brushing his teeth when his routine was interrupted by some fervent knocking.

"Hurry up, Linc!" Lori's panicked voice announced her desperate need to go.

Lincoln looked back at the door, his expression read as the following: "Oh dang! I gotta get used to sharing stuff now." He rushed over and opened the door for her.

"Oh thank god!" Lori pushed him out of the way and entered. Stumbling back to his feet, Lincoln glanced back at the door. He moved to a near by wall and leaned, bidding his time.

As Lori exited, she screamed with a start. "Waah!" She nearly tossed up her phone but merely fumbled it from hand to hand. "Geez, twerp! What the heck?"

"Oh," Lincoln gave her some room and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Um, sorry. Um, twice over. Sorry for taking so long in the bathroom."

"Huh?" The blonde regained her poise. "Literally? It's fine. No biggy. It happens from time to time…" Her face scrunched up trying to remember another time. "Well sometimes."

"Well still," Lincoln looked up to the girl. "I'll try to be more considerate."

"Linc, it's okay." Her freshly washed hand ruffled his greasy hair, she realized that was a dumb decision. "Look, I'm going to get ready for bed." She moved towards her room. "We'll hang out tomorrow, bro."

"Okay, goodnight, sis." He happily waved to her as she closed the door. She gave him a slight wave back. When the door clicked shut, he smiled to himself closing his hand slowly. Lightly stepping with his bare feet, Lincoln returned to his room. A voice stopped him before entering it.

"Lincoln?" He looked over his shoulder, it was his sister peeking out her door. "Hey, I don't feel like I say it enough but… love you." Lincoln looked at her with an expression that could only be described as a lot of shock. Her own blue eyes widened and her face turned red. "You know what! Never mind! Thanks for being a cool brother! Okay, goodnight!"

Her door room slammed shut.

Lincoln stood frozen in the hall, just staring. Over time his shock turned into a grin, then a bright smile.

"Love you too, Lori."

* * *

The night came and went.

A new crazy day dawned but this time he was excited.

This morning was different.

He knew he had a sister waiting for him.

His feet patted quickly as he dashed down the hall.

Without a care, Lincoln opened his sister's door.

"Lori, what should we-"

His voice stopped as he looked inward.

A tall beautiful girl with long golden hair in a sea-foam green nightgown stood there comparing outfits in a large mirror. She glanced over to the door, where the boy stood in shock.

"Oh!" The teen tossed her dresses onto her green bed. "Hey, Lincy." She gracefully strode towards the boy and smiled. "What can your big sis, Leni, do for you?"


End file.
